You're The One That I Want
by Lord Axxingtons
Summary: 1954. Summer is over, his dad's a drunk, his brother thinks he's a loser, and he's stuck in detention, but at Hope's Peak High, New York City, Mondo Oowada's biggest worry is getting a date for homecoming, and not thinking about the fact that maybe he's a bad person. (SPOILERS for all of DR1. Sequel in progress)
1. Chapter 1

**Story image is fanart for this story. Check out more in the links below chapter 3!**

Summer of 1954 was Mondo's summer, his own, because for the first time Daiya had decided he was too mature for the Crazy Diamonds - and besides that, he was gettin' committed to some chick he knocked up - so that summer the reins were handed to Mondo.

That summer was long and hot, spent screaming around town in souped up machines with his nest slicked up like his bro. He'd been labelled a good for nothing JD by the goofs that ran his school anyway, so why try? But now it was back on the school hound as September rolled in, and most of the gang guys weren't in education any more. His senior year, his last homecoming, and boy, it wasn't like he still cared. He rolled up into the corral scowling and trying to play it cool, but Leon ran right up to him with his shock of ginger hair and just had to act like they were tight scooches.

Leon Kuwata was kind of a square, but he and Mondo had been buddies since Little League, and Leon still seemed to think it was the case; the trouble was, this past year Kuwata had started spiking his hair up and dressing in tight-fitting clothes and saying he wanted to quit baseball, so every cat in town was whispering that he was queer, and Mondo didn't know yet if he agreed.

"What's buzzin', cousin?" Leon greeted, pulling him in for a man-hug.  
Mondo smiled halfheartedly and quickly tugged Leon's hands off his leather jacket. "Not much, hub cap. Seen the new doll in school yet?"  
"Yep, and Clyde, shit's unreal. She's an ogre. That's what they're calling her."  
"Whatever." He clapped Leon on the shoulder and headed into the school building as the bell rang out. "Let's make this year good before we cut out."

The new girl really did look like an ogre, and her thick arms were scarred all over, but she had a gentle face as she introduced herself to the class as Sakura Oogami. She stuck out like a sore thumb as she ventured for a seat. Their homeroom teacher, Mr. Monokuma, had directed her to sit down next to the rich cube Byakuya Togami, but the eyeballing Togami was giving her seemed to leave no room for argument. Mondo didn't really dig getting into fights with rich brats, but Togami was a nasty little stuck-up germ and no mistake. However, Aoi Asahina, the busty swim team champ who sat in front of Mondo, waved her over with a warm smile. Huh. Aoi really was a pretty swell kitten. Maybe he oughtta ask her to homecoming.

See, that was the real buzz in the room, even as Monokuma droned on about this being the year to get their heads down. The senior year homecoming dance was nearly your last chance to show all the other guys you could kill it with the ladies, and while nerds and fatsos like Ishimaru and Yamada had no chance with any dame except wet rags like Touko Fukawa, it was expected of radioactive cats like Mondo that they could pull in the queens with the classiest chassises.

Well, easier said than done. He could try making apple butter with one of those Enoshima gals, and sure, they were both dollies but they were also pretty wacko. Celestia Ludenberg sure looked the part, dressed like a china doll and hella beautiful, but he couldn't exactly see her having a blast dancing it up with him, and there would definitely be no chance of backseat bingo with an icy babe like that. Sayaka Maizono was cute, but he knew Leon and Makoto Naegi both had their eyes on her, so he thought he'd better stay out of that racket. Kyouko Kirigiri? Man, she was a girl with the looks and the smarts, but he was pretty sure she hated his guts. No, Aoi was the best choice - a good time and easy on the eyes.

The bell rang out for first period and Mondo hitched his bag over his shoulder, about to leave, when he heard a commotion.

"What's goin' on?" he muttered to Leon, who whispered "Would you believe it, Yamada's gonna ask Celestia out!"  
"Yamada? Doesn't he realise he's a panic and a half to her?" This would be hilarious.  
"Son, I think he's too snowed to care. Geez, would you look at the fat fuck?" Leon snorted.  
Hifumi had risen from his desk, and, groveling like a servant, got on one tremulous knee in front of a horrified-looking Celes. "My lady..." the nerd mumbled, "Would you do me the honour of letting me take you to the homecoming dance?"  
She gave him a look like a bug had crawled onto her dinner, then, without a word, stood up and stalked out of the room in her six-inch stilettos. Yamada nodded sadly, as if he had expected little else.

Mondo looked up to confirm Mr. Monokuma had split, then nodded at Leon, grinning, as they stepped in towards Yamada.

"You get clutched, buddy? Too bad," Mondo slung an arm around Hifumi's shoulders, who looked wary and pale. "Guess that's what comes of being a fat little peepers-wearin' punk-" -he punched Yamada square in the stomach, designed to wind - "-who ain't got no manners." Leon laughed as Yamada fell to the floor, and gave him another kick. Before they could finish him up, though, he felt Mr. Monokuma's hand clap onto his shoulder.  
"Mr. Oowada! This is unacceptable behaviour! Mr. Kuwata, I'm sure you know better."  
"Aww, teach, we was just jokin' around! Who sung?"

"I did." Came a stern voice and Mondo looked up to see the punchably smug face of Kiyotaka Ishimaru, an insufferable party pooper who seemed to have it out for ruining Mondo's fun. "You don't rule this school, Oowada."  
"Tell it to the preacher, Ishimaru," he sneered back, and the nerd still took a step forward, so Mondo just had to launch a punch his way, even though Monokuma was still gripping his shoulders. Ishimaru blocked it with a precise kick, clearly a textbook imitation of some martial arts crap; even when he fought it was nerdy. Mondo wriggled out of Monokuma's hold and aimed for the stomach, but jesus, Ishimaru must've had abs like a damn cheese grater, he didn't see that rock-solid surface coming. Wincing as he shook his wrist, he almost didn't spot Ishimaru's fist coming in to attempt to clock him a right hook, and only just dodged it. As he attempted to pull himself together, they were both shoved to the ground by an irate Monokuma and the school janitor, putting an end to the scrap.

"ONE WEEK'S DETENTION! BOTH OF YOU!" Monokuma roared. "Now get to class."  
"Awww, thanks for nothin', Ishi... Wait 'til I pound you," Mondo grumbled. Ishimaru looked flabbergasted that he had been given a detention too. "Sir! ...Sir!" he called, but Monokuma was out of the door.

Kirigiri was still there; he'd hardly noticed her. She helped Ishimaru up, pointedly ignoring Mondo. As he left, he paused in the doorway. "It's not fair," Kirigiri was muttering. "The bozos that run this joint always side with bullies like Oowada. You don't deserve to get in trouble too."  
"Well... ain't that the bite of being a good student," Ishimaru nodded morosely. "Thanks, Kyouko."

Geez, weren't they thick as thieves. He tried to ignore the guilt at how true their observations were. Wait, what if Ishimaru was gonna ask Kyouko to the dance? He couldn't initially identify what about that made him mad, but eventually figured a square like Ishimaru didn't deserve a bona fide doll like Kirigiri. Dang. He'd have to sort out that date with Aoi soon.

He skipped out detention, of course, but there was hardly any point 'cause he couldn't even get back in his house - his dad was off his head, drunk as a skunk, and he could hear plates being thrown and Daiya yelling. His brother was a lucky fuck, he'd get to hit the gravel and move out once he got circled. Mondo was stuck in the house with his lousy father for until he could rumble up the cash. He scowled at his door, turned around, and headed out to the garage.

Life blew, but his bike sure didn't. He goosed it on the gas and got a few of the Diamonds to come cruising with him, but there was nothing really to see except that oddball Fukawa from his class, who was standing looking at a dead cat with a horrified expression. What a kook.

The sun set, and Mondo rode. No rest for the wicked.


	2. Chapter 2

Capital of Ohio. That had to be Cincinatti, right? The tempo of Mondo's pencil tapping on the desk increased, causing the supervising teacher, Miss Monomi, to glance up from her romance novel. He scribbled the word Cincinatti, frowned intensely at it, then rubbed it out. She resumed reading, satisfied.

Perfect time to lean over and get a look. They were making him sit at the front of the class, practically rubbing shoulders with the dork Ishimaru who was there of his own accord. This, Mondo had discovered, had its benefits. He attempted to covertly peer at the hall monitor's test sheet, but Ishimaru caught him in the act and shielded his paper furiously, glaring at Mondo.

"Cool it, cat," Mondo whispered, "I just got a little smog in the noggin and can't presently remember the capital of Ohio is all. Do a buddy a favour?"  
"Miss Monomi!" Ishimaru's hand shot up in the air like a bullet, nearly spiking a finger straight through Mondo's slick pompadour. "Oowada's trying to cheat!"

He cursed as Monomi ordered him to take his desk in the corner and face the wall. Picking up the table as he waddled past a satisfied Ishimaru, he muttered "You're dead after class." It felt a little elementary school, but was no more than what the punk deserved. Right? I mean, you couldn't just go around being all...  
OK, he couldn't identify exactly what about Ishimaru's behaviour earned him a beating, but it just did.

He wrote down Cincinatti again and groaned at the next question, something about presidents, which he knew fuck all about, except that Lincoln was the one with the beard and Eisenhower was the mug on the radio presently. There were 18 more questions on the pop quiz, but he barely made any headway before the bell rang for lunch. Something was just eating at the inside of his head.

Monomi kept Mondo behind for a short lecture on his conduct, although the fat broad carried all the authority of a bunny rabbit so he was barely listening. The way she pronounced her Rs had been hilarious on their first day of class, but now it was just irritating as hell.  
"Oowada, if you want to gwaduate this year, you're going to have to take your studies sewiously."  
"Yeah." He glanced at the door as the other students filed out. There was Ishimaru, the little bug, the little creep, making a hasty escape 'cause he knew he was in for it.  
"I want to see evidence you're working independently. Maybe you can get your bwother to test you at home, or one of your pawents."  
"Yeah." Well, she clearly didn't know shit about Mondo's family.  
"So will you wite a paper for me for next week?"  
"Yeah. Can I go?"  
"Vewy well. Have a fun lunchtime! Make good choices!"

Ishimaru was never hard to find during lunch. Hope's Peak High was small, with a government budget concrete yard that nobody really bothered to use, and after they wolfed down the slop the lunch hall served, most students were either smoking in the john or gossiping by the bike sheds. The thing about standouts like Ishimaru, who would never be caught dead doing either of those activities, was that it narrowed them down to two locations - classrooms or corridors.

The guy was a hall monitor. Mondo's GPA may have been a 1.0, but it didn't take a genius to hunt down a guy who was yelling at ninth graders to stop running in the hallways. Mondo came up behind Ishimaru and saw the kids' eyes widening. "Scram," he said in a low voice, and they hastily obeyed.

Ishimaru turned to face him and Mondo slammed his hand against the lockers to block any exits, as was customary. But Ishimaru didn't bolt, and his facial expression was weirdly resigned. Suddenly, instead of punching, Mondo felt like asking questions.  
"Why'd you do that?"  
"Do what?"  
"Why'd you always rile me up? Why are you always cruisin' for a bruisin'? It don't make sense to me. Just let us do our thing and we'd let you do yours."  
"No you wouldn't," Ishimaru mutters, not meeting his eyes. "Your kind always hurts people even if they do nothing to bother you. So I do what's right. I don't care what it gets me!"  
"Reckon you'll go to heaven?" It was meant to come out with a sneer, but he said it weirdly honestly.  
"S'not for me to say." Ishimaru shifted under his gaze. His head was tilted to the side, bracing for a blow, and almost for the first time, Mondo noticed the green-yellow patchwork of fading bruises on Ishimaru's neck and face, no doubt extending all the way down his body. "Anyways, get on with it. You wanna be able to brag to college-age deadbeats about how you beat me up for being a nerd, right? What an existence!"  
"Shut the fuck up." But he didn't punch him yet. "If you wasn't a nerd I wouldn't have to beat you."  
"So you'd beat someone else, if I had jelly-roll hair and hung around with your gang in your souped up cars?"  
"Bikes."  
"I don't care. Deal your blows, Oowada, stop wasting my time. I have duties to attend to."  
"Sure. Fuckin' nerd."  
But Mondo's hand wouldn't punch. He lifted his fingers but they just sort of lingered, close to touching Ishimaru's bruises. God, the kid must smart 24/7. How many other bozos were beating on him? Mondo hadn't done all this. Your kind, he'd said. Other cool guys. Other bullies like him.  
Byakuya Togami rounded the corner, dressed in a designer suit to kill and with an expression that indicated the same. Always a neutral party in aggressions, Mondo didn't worry about him running to teacher, but he did get an unexpected bolt of horror down his spine like a bucket of ice when Togami glanced at his hand hovering on Ishimaru's shoulder pressed against the locker and sneered, as if knowingly.  
Mondo pulled his hand back and weakly slapped Ishimaru across the face, then stalked off.  
Ishimaru rubbed his face and didn't look after him, as if he understood.

After spending the rest of lunch scowling and passing smokes to Leon, who was fervently promising that Sayaka Maizono was gonna fall for him at the dance, they parted for PE; Leon, a baseball genius, was in the elite set, along with Ishimaru and other hard workers. It seemed like the new girl, Oogami, had been placed there pretty much without question. Mondo, however, despite being none too short on muscles, was too much of a slacker to get enthusiastic about sport, so sat in the bottom set doing jack all; mostly athletics.

In the changing room after, he pulled his t-shirt over his head and paused halfway into it. That little guy Chihiro Fujisaki was staring at him again. Fujisaki always stared at him. A weird, quiet kid, who didn't even look old enough to be in high school, let alone senior year, Mondo felt Fujisaki would be pretty cute if he was a girl.  
But he wasn't. So he wasn't cute. "Quit starin', you little queer."

Fujisaki turned scarlet, eyes brimming, and faced the wall.

And if that made everyone else turn their back on Fujisaki who had liked him previously, and his lunch money get stolen another day, and spitballs got flicked at him during class, then what business was it of Mondo's? He had a reputation to uphold, and it didn't involve little homo perverts getting their rocks off to him.

That's what he attempted to tell himself, but his mind was screwed today. It just seemed intent on giving him a conscience.

Leon was in high spirits when they reunited for study period, which made him forget his guilt. It seemed as though he would have to deal with the slightly depressing fact that Kuwata was the only real friend he had left in this joint. Study period was theoretically for finishing homework, but among the popular crowd, on this week of all weeks, it was the chance to secure a date with the person you actually wanted.  
"So here's how I think I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna serenade her."  
"Oh come on, dude, don't sing. That's nowhere."  
"I'm telling you, girls love that shit. Rock and roll is where it's going, Mondo."  
"Don't fuckin' sing to her; that's her thing. She won't be impressed. You gotta work the sports aspect."  
"Aww, but I hate baseball."  
"Doesn't matter 'cause girls don't. Look, just act like you plan on bein' a regular gentleman, not an ass, and she'll be flattered."  
"Well ain't you hep with the ladies, Mr. Grease. You gonna walk the walk too? Got anyone in mind?"  
"Eh, sure. Asahina."  
"Aw yeah, she's a doll. Got a strategy?"  
"You don't need a fuckin' strategy, Kuwata. Just ask the girl out."  
"Yeah. All right." Leon stood up and walked over to Maizono, who turned red and whose friends all started giggling furiously, so he presumed that one wasn't exactly a shock move. Moments later she smiled, whispered something while all her friends shrieked, and Leon's leg stopped doing its nervous twitch, so he assumed success.

"Nuts! Leon's asking out Sayaka... I bet she tells him yes. Girls think he's cool, right, Kyouko?" Makoto Naegi, this cube in his class who sat behind him, was addressing Kirigiri, one of the few people in the room who was actually doing her work.  
"Sure."  
"Now I'll have no-one to go with. ...Hey, anyone asked you yet, Kyouko?"  
"Not yet."  
Boy, Mondo thought, he didn't want to feel like a gossipy old aunt, but he hoped this one resolved itself and Naegi stopped being so damn oblivious.  
"Huh. I'm sure it'll happen, you're pretty and stuff. Dang, I wish Leon hadn't got to Sayaka first. She's a dream."  
"Yes." Kirigiri flipped a page in her textbook, a hint more aggressively than beforehand. God, Naegi was a dope!

It seemed Leon had tipped the ball to rolling and now everyone in class was working up the courage. That laughable Touko Fukawa, who didn't seem to realise she was meant to wait for some desperate clown to ask her first, had approached Togami's desk, and slunk back to hers without even being graced with a reply. That Fukawa was cuckoo - there was a rumour she didn't even shower, and had cooties. He almost felt sorry for how deluded she must be to think Togami might acquiesce to her for a date.  
Even Hagakure, this weirdo who had been held back three years, almost never showed up to class, and everyone was pretty sure smoked a lot of marijuana, had made an appearance in order to ask out Junko Enoshima, who initially laughed in his face, but then seemed to decide she admired his bravery and said yes. He didn't know what the fuck was going on with that gal, but he wouldn't touch that mess with a bargepole.

Oh shit, Aoi. He had to get her before someone else did, lest a decent-looking bozo like Togami pounce on her. He got up reluctantly and shuffled up to her desk, next to the stoic Sakura.  
"Aoi. Uh. You got a date to homecoming?" He scratched his neck.  
"Uh, gee, not yet, I guess..." She replied, startled.  
"You wanna... you feel like goin' with me? No funny business, just dancin' and stuff."  
"Jeez, Oowada, I believe you. Yeah, why not?"  
"Sweet." He allowed himself to smile, awkwardly, then returned to his seat, where Leon was giving him enthusiastic thumbs-up gestures.

So homecoming was sorted. Cool. School was over, he didn't have to worry about a thing from now on, and yet as he strode out the gates he still felt as though some unfinished business was ticking away in the back of his mind.  
At that point Monokuma's hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Detention, Mr. Oowada. Don't think I've forgotten. You missed yesterday."  
"Aww, sir, you know how much I'd love to spend an hour catchin' up with you and all, it's just that I got to get home..."  
"Miss Monomi will be supervising. Get. Back. To. Class."

Unable to escape, he moodily stomped back into his homeroom where Ishimaru was sitting stiffly at his desk, and Monomi writing the word FRIENDSHIP in giant, loopy letters on the board.  
"Monomi, what's this?" Mondo asked as he resumed his old seat at the back of the class.  
"Oowada, I want you to sit next to Ishimawu today! This detention is going to be all about learning how to be fwiends."  
"I got calculus homework to do, but whatever." He kicked the chair out of the way and sprawled in the desk next to Ishimaru's.  
"Well, maybe Mr. Ishimawu can help you with that." She smiled and flounced back to her chair.

Mondo turned to Ishimaru, who stared determinedly at his desk.  
"You gonna make like teacher said and help me with my homework, Ishi? Come on," Mondo drawled.  
The hall monitor didn't reply, but drew his pristine backpack slightly closer into his chest.  
"Don't be a drag, man. Hey, you got homework to do too, right?"  
"I completed all my work during study period, as the school rules dictate." Was it Mondo, or did Ishimaru sound... nervous? His manner was tense, as if expecting a blow at any time.

And why not? It occured to Mondo suddenly. If you got harassed 24/7, wouldn't you be on your guard? He'd never really known that kind of feeling. Following in Daiya's footsteps, doing exactly as his brother did, he'd always kept up the reputation that made him a kid you didn't mess with, even in kindergarten when they all played together. Being the victim... he'd hardly thought about it before. But it'd make a guy paranoid, wouldn't it?  
Shit. He scared Ishimaru. He was frightening to another person.  
God, what was wrong with his head today?

"Hey, Ishimaru."  
"What?" Defensive.  
"Sorry for uh... slappin' you around earlier. And. You know. All those other times. Wasn't exactly called for."  
"Well, ain't that a nice gesture." Ishimaru snorted, but then appeared to consider it seriously. "But I accept your apology, late as it may be."  
"So... can I copy your answers, or what?"  
"No, you may not."  
"Aww, don't be like that."  
"However... You're badly in need of tutoring, Mondo Oowada, and I happen to be the best there is."  
"Ain't that sweet. What's the catch? I ain't done you no favours."  
"...Leave me alone. And get all your boys to leave me alone too. I just want to walk home unmolested, thanks."  
"The Diamonds been giving you trouble on your way home?" He hadn't known. "They ain't mean to be doin' that. We're bikers, we're just having a good time. This isn't meant to be no gang of thugs."  
"Well, evidently my status as a 'nerd' is easily picked up just from sight." Ishimaru explained stiffly.  
"Huh. Well I'll tell them to leave it out. Now you gotta learn me this math, 'cause it's front burner, I don't wanna have to repeat the year."  
"I may not be able to 'learn' you any math, but I can attempt to teach you if you are willing to study." A hint of a smile twitched at the corner of Ishimaru's mouth.  
Mondo was having doubts about this truce already.

That night they rode again, even though Ishimaru'd told him he ought to start doing essay practise at home. Not like he ever could concentrate in his own house. Just getting on his Triumph and laying a patch in his scummy neighbourhood, that was his own form of stress relief.  
"Hey boys," he yelled over the engines as they pulled up in front of the late-night gas station. "Leave Ishimaru from my class alone, all right?"  
"Got a boyfriend, boss?" jeered Takada.  
"Shut the fuck up, he's tutorin' me so I don't fail math so I gotta keep on his good side."

They paid for gas, picked up a few packs of smokes, then lounged around outside the closed comic book store.  
"You ask out that girl, boss?"  
"Oh, sure. She said yes."  
"She cute, boss?"  
"Knockers out to here."  
The boys laughed and high-fived each other, copying his mime, but weirdly, Mondo's heart wasn't in it. Did he like Asahina? 'Course he did, she was a swell girl. Did he find her sexy? Well sure, what red-blooded guy wouldn't.  
But when Tetsu started recounting in grody detail the encounter he'd had with some nympho college girl, along with improbable gestures, Mondo's blood wasn't pumping like the other guys' were.  
Hey, maybe he was just growing up. Didn't get his kicks from imaginary girls any more, needed the real thing.  
He'd tell himself that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter warning: Homophobic slurs.**

* * *

"You realise your homecoming date's a dyke, right?"

Mondo was on the desk, grabbing Togami by the collar, before he could get out the next breath. "You dare fuckin' say that about my girl! Your fuckin' teeth'll get knocked out!"  
"Get bent, I'm just stating facts," Togami replied surprisingly calmly, considering the fact he was being pinned to his own desk by an irate muscled gang leader. "Asahina's a kitty puncher, everyone can tell. 'Sides, maybe you suit each other. Queers better stick with-"  
He didn't get to finish the sentence. Sakura Oogami stood up from her desk, walked calmly over, slammed Byakuya Togami's head into his own desk, then punched out two teeth, as promised.

An ambulance was phoned, as were both Sakura's parents and Mondo's dad, although he knew perfectly well that both were useless gestures - Sakura hadn't, unfortunately, punched Togami life-threateningly hard, and his dad would probably just be irritated that he'd let a girl throw the punches for him.

It was last period, and Miss Monomi had been trying to get them all engaged in _Hamlet_ before the tension broke out, but had run out of class crying as soon as Mondo even raised his voice. She then returned with Mr. Monokuma, who was, as ever, brimming with fury.  
"Oogami, this is unacceptable from a new student! We have a zero-tolerance policy on violence! Come with me, you're going to spend the rest of the day cooling down in my office. Oowada, I'm getting very sick of hearing your name associated with some act of aggression. Your ass better be in detention after this."  
"Sir, I don't think teachers oughtta use bad language an' all. Sets a bad example for us impressionable youths. 'Sides that, I got detention anyway, remember?" Mondo replied cheerfully.  
"Don't you get smart with me, you little punk. One of these days you'll go too far and end up in jail, so I'd clean up your act-"

A high-pitched wail emerged from the corner of the room and Touko Fukawa stood up and ran out of the classroom, sniveling. Miss Monomi shrieked and ran after her, while the rest of the class sat stunned. A brief silence followed.  
Monokuma pinched the bridge of his button nose. "You'd get out in ten minutes anyway, whaddo I care. Class dismissed. Ahha - sit tight, Oowada. You're going nowhere."

Most of the class filed out, but for a notable exception - Asahina. Mondo had almost forgotten she was in the room. She came up to his desk, arms swinging.  
"That was real nice of you, Mondo. And of Sakura. To defend me."  
"Well, Togami had it coming. He had no right to say that stuff about you."  
"Yeah. I... It's not true, Mondo. I don't get why everyone says that about me."  
"Don't listen to a word of it."  
Aoi had gone a little red and was staring at his hands on the desk. "You called me your girl."  
"Uhh, oh geez. That was just... on the spur of the moment, ya know." It was a good thing Leon had already left, 'cause he'd never tire of ribbing Mondo if he heard him stumbling over his words like this with a chick. It was just 'cause she was distractingly cute, alright?  
"Well, we have a date planned, so I guess it's reasonable."  
"Sure. I... I like you, Aoi. I'm lookin' forward to homecoming." He spoke honestly, but weirdly, he felt as though there was something missing from their dialogue - like they were following the script, but they were just actors. He did like Asahina. 'Course he did. She was swell, and pretty, and level-headed, and seemed to like him back. And yet, on both sides of their conversation, the chemistry fell flat.

He'd never admit it in his wildest nightmares, but Mondo had never kissed a girl.

Maybe if he did it now, he'd fix whatever - whatever _this_ was.

He leaned forward and clumsily pecked Aoi at the same time as she turned her head to the door, so he ended up kissing the space between her cheek and ear, at the same time as Ishimaru entered the room, arms full of folders.

All three of them went red. "Oh - sorry-" cried Ishimaru, standing stock still in the doorway. Asahina covered her mouth with her hands and said "Oh gosh, sorry, I didn't-" at the same time as Mondo fumbled "Sorry, it was stupid of me to-"

None of these apologies were going anywhere, they all seemed to realise simultaneously. Asahina stood up and quickly exited, and Mondo spit-combed his pompadour, not looking at Ishimaru, trying to convince himself that had just not been the right moment. It had been like kissing his grandma. More romantic setting and he'd get it right.

Ishimaru coughed and settled down in the desk next to him. "I see I interrupted something, but now... now it is time to study." He didn't seem to be the smoothest milkshake in the shack when it came to changing the subject. "I wrote up some problems for you to attempt based on the theory we learned yesterday."  
A sheet covered with incomprehensible equations was placed in front of him. "There's no way I can do these," Mondo complained, clutching his head.  
"It's perfectly simple if you apply your knowledge." Ishimaru scooted up next to him.  
Their knees were knocking. "Haha, whoah, personal space," Mondo laughed nervously, but Ishimaru was completely inept at picking up on social niceties. "All the question is asking you is to simplify the equation so that on one side we just have _x_, and the other side, its equivalent."  
"Side of what?" Ishimaru's skin was so _pale._ Mondo couldn't tear his eyes off that porcelain fuckin' neck.  
"I see we have a lot to cover."

Ishimaru began to scribble, but Mondo had a hard time concentrating on any illuminations he might receive when Ishimaru's thigh was like,_insistently_ pressed against his. How could the other guy sit there blithering away about math; couldn't he feel the _heat_ like Mondo could?

Christ he was queer he was _really really queer he was thinking homo thoughts_

"...So that leaves us with?"  
"Ahuh?"  
"Have you even been listening to this explanation?" cried Ishimaru crossly. "Miss Monomi isn't even here, I have no obligation to tutor you!"  
"Zowie, she ain't even, is she? I'm gonna split. Later, gator." The words flowed out automatically, but he found he didn't move.

Ishimaru's eyelashes were long for a guy.

_Mondo you son of a bitch get out of here now don't you dare do something fuckin' HOMO_, his inner Daiya voice hissed, and he knew it was right. Ishimaru was staring at him, confused.

Kissing Aoi felt like nothing. Maybe if he just...  
He took Ishimaru's chin between finger and thumb, and tilted his head, leaning in, and he saw Ishimaru turning scarlet, and he didn't know what he was _doing_...

"I gotta go. I gotta go." He stood up and grabbed every piece of paper on the table in an aimless bundle. "I gotta go." He had no idea why he was repeating himself like an idiot. He strode out of the classroom and didn't look back.

God, what a dumb fucking thing to do. This wasn't some _experiment_ he could conduct without anyone knowing! What if Ishimaru sung? And why did he even - he wasn't, he _couldn't_ be a fucking flit, a fairy, a faggot, a - jesus, why did all these words start with F? He almost wanted to laugh.

When he got home Daiya was in a mood. "You goin' soft or something?" he yelled as soon as Mondo walked in. "You a goddamn fag now?"  
"Afternoon to you too!" Mondo yelled back, trying to ignore his heart jumping with fear. _He couldn't know, there was no_ way _Daiya could know_...

"I heard from that weird punk Kuwata that you hang out with that some kid at school's callin' you a fag."  
_Thanks for nothing, Leon,_ thought Mondo sourly. A friend indeed. "Yeah, that rich piece Togami. He also called the hottest girl in class a dyke. He's a fucking attention-seeker. Got a knuckle sandwich for it." He refrained from mentioning he hadn't been the one to deal it out.  
"Well, some of the Diamonds said you been actin' soft, too. Don't fuck up this leadership, Mondo. But what's this about the hottest girl in class? Got your eye on a lady?"  
"Oh, yeah. I already asked her to homecoming."  
"Sweet, what's she like?"  
"Seriously fit body, man. Like nothing you seen. She's got this dark hair, and these... bright eyes. She's really... sincere."  
"Well don't recite a fuckin' sonnet, bro, what's her ass like?"  
"Oh. Uh, cute."  
"Is she tan?"  
"No, pale as - uhhh, yeah, pretty tan."  
"Haha, shit, sounded like you were thinking about a different girl for a second."  
"Yeah." Not a different girl.  
"Anyways, don't fuck around with the Crazy Diamonds. That's our _legacy_, man, gotta dedicate time to it."  
"Whatever." Suddenly, irrationally, he was angry. Not that he hated the Diamonds or anything, but sometimes he felt like nobody ever actually asked him what he wanted to _do_ with his life. Monokuma thought he'd be a criminal, Daiya thought he'd be a biker, but... both of those sounded like pretty pathetic lifestyles.

Ishimaru always spoke to him like he could go to college and be a goddamn Ivy Leaguer mathematician if he wanted to, even though they both knew Mondo was too stupid. Ishimaru didn't seem to assume he was just gonna be some deadbeat... even though he treated Ishimaru like crap.

He went out as the sun set, even though he didn't want to see anyone. Hands in his jacket pocket, he skulked on the corner of East 132nd Street.

A shadow moved. Was that -  
Fukawa. From his class. She was crouched over something dark in an alley. She met his eyes, looked terrified, and ran.

Jesus H. Christ, there was something messed up with that chick. On another day, maybe, he'd have had some sympathy to spare, he'd have gone after Fukawa and asked what was wrong, but for now he wandered on into the Upper East Side, where the houses gradually changed from his scummy neighbourhood into these poncy streets that had like, fake old-looking architecture.

And wouldn't you know it, as Mondo stopped in front of the gates to the fanciest Manhattan mini-mansion that 1954 had to offer, none other than Byakuya Togami, accompanied by some big daddy who was presumably his famous father, stepped out of a fancy motorcar and walked up to the mansion.

Mondo flattened himself against the wall. It would do him no good to be pointed out as the culprit of the fat lip Togami was sporting in front of the fat cat himself. As he watched Togami's dad fuss over his son's privileged face, as a fucking _butler_ took their coats while they walked into their privileged home and back to their privileged lives, he pictured his own dad slumped on the couch at home and felt a white-hot surge of anger.

Once the Togamis in their velvet coats had disappeared safely inside, he grabbed a brick from the building site next door, took aim, and with extreme satisfaction, hurled it straight through one of the upper windows on that beautiful house.

He heard the shouts before he even processed what a dumb fucking thing he'd just done, and bolted.

Back in the Southwest Bronx, Mondo paused for breath. He'd ran far enough that he couldn't be associated with the crime except by some particularly sharp police officer, but he still felt rattled. Getting in real trouble with the law hadn't been his plan. He was just full of mistakes today.

And, as he thought this, along came a reminder of the biggest one. Kiyotaka Ishimaru on a red bicycle, cycling the same way he did everything, with way too much enthusiasm. He had four lights on the thing and was strapped from head to toe in the most dorkish safety equipment possible. Ishimaru almost rode past without noticing Mondo, and he wasn't sure if he would have preferred that, but then the hall monitor paused and looked back, seeing Mondo's shadow on the wall in the low light.

"Oowada." Ishimaru paused, then, hesitantly, paused his bike on its kickstand next to the sidewalk where Mondo leant against the wall. "Why are you out of breath?"  
He ignored the question. "Didn't know you lived 'round here, Ishimaru."  
"There are things about my life that might surprise you. But... I wanted to talk to you, actually."  
"Well I don't wanna talk to you." Mondo fiddled for a cigarette in his pocket, but had none.  
"I think we need to talk about detention today-"  
"I _don't_ wanna talk about it." Mondo yelled harshly. "You tell anyone," he added quieter, "I'll fucking cripple you, I'll put you in the goddamn hospital, you dare talk to anyone-"  
"I'm not going to tell anyone, Oowada. But I think we should talk about it."  
"What's the fucking point? I did something dumb, forget about it, the end."  
"I don't want to forget about it." Ishimaru didn't meet his eyes, but seemed to burst with need to get it out of his system. "I've known I was different for a while now, and I think you are too."

Different. That was one way of putting it.

Ishimaru's eyes were so brown they were almost red. On the bike he beat Mondo for height, and if Mondo shuffled a little towards him, and sorta tilted his head up, and if Ishimaru leaned down to meet him there, then did that make him some kinda sodomist?

He didn't know. All he knew was that Ishimaru was hesitantly kissing him, and his heart was holding a fucking fireworks party, and he felt dizzy, and he put his hand on Ishimaru's neck, that _damned_ pale neck, and -

"Boss, is that- whoah!"  
It all happened at once. Tetsu and a few of the guys rounded the corner and stopped short. Mondo gasped against Ishimaru's mouth. And put his hands on Ishimaru's shoulders and pushed, hard, shoving the nerd down into the street. "Fuckin' queer," it was coming out of his mouth unprompted, a string of nonsense words, "Fuckin' homo, faggot, get off me, get the fuck off me, I-"

Ishimaru stood up, jumped on his bike and cycled quickly away. His eyes were burning with hurt as he looked at Mondo, and still Mondo's useless mouth was burbling "Queer pervert, tryin' to catch me off guard, faggots everywhere-"

"Boss..." said Tetsu hesitantly. "We, uh, we heard someone bricked the Togami place. Thought maybe it was you, but uh... I guess you was probably occupied."  
There was a hard note of accusation in the voice and Mondo didn't even have the energy to yell at the guys as they walked away again, staring at him.

He slammed his head against the brick wall, cursed at what a stupid idea it was, and tried to pretend he didn't hate himself a whole lot.

* * *

**Additional fanart for this chapter can be found on its AO3 counterpart (Curse you FFNet link breaks). **


	4. Chapter 4

Mondo awoke in an alley.

Granted, this wasn't the first time it had happened, but it was still a little jarring.

The trash can he'd been leaning his head against stunk of rotting food, and his hair was in a pathetic state. "Yeesh," he said to nobody in particular, "Screwed, blued, and tattooed." Except he hadn't even been drinking this time, he was just kind of too much of a loser to find his way home.

He regretted that he had considered himself too hep to wear a wristwatch, 'cause the sun was beating high in the sky but he was a city kid; it could be any time between 7 AM or 5 PM as far as he knew.  
Oh yeah, it was a Friday. School. Shit, it was the last place he wanted to go; he certainly didn't wanna face Togami or, god forbid, Ishimaru, but he couldn't figure that he had anything better to do with his day - he couldn't ride, the guys had seen.  
Crud. Did they think he was a homo? Did they suspect?

Mondo stood up, attempted to get his bearings, and touched his own lip absently.  
If that was what kissing someone - kissing someone you really liked - felt like, how did folks ever do anything else?  
Not that it mattered, 'cause Ishimaru would never speak to him again.

Combing his jacket pockets, he discovered he was ten cents short for a bus fare to school, and managed to bum the change off a businessman reading a newspaper and a concerned-mother type, who also told him it was 11 AM. She clearly thought he was some kind of delinquent who'd been out hittin' the hop and too faded to find the way home. The truth was only a little less pathetic.

He heard the sirens before he was off the bus, and should have guessed something was up - but when Mondo hopped off at the stop for Hope's Peak High, the police cars surrounding the building took him completely off guard.

Heart firing like a jackhammer, all he needed to see was that Byakuya Togami was being interviewed by a police officer, and Mondo Oowada ran for his life.

He wasn't built for running, so after catapulting through only four blocks, barely making headway out of Tremont, his stamina failed him and he stopped in an alley to gasp in air, clutching his knees.  
"Hey, boss. Long run?"

Tetsu. Mondo was in no mood to deal with the Diamonds today, but when he looked up, most of the gang were assembled. These cats were looking rough. "You ain't been spending time with us in the last few days," a fox-faced underling called Ito observed, and Mondo wondered when he'd given that upstart permission to speak. "We had to organise our own fun."  
"Been busy." He muttered, crossing his arms.  
"So we heard. Looks like you got a tail." Ito nodded behind him and Mondo turned to see Ishimaru turning his bike around the street corner Mondo had just ran past, a look of determination on the hall monitor's face.

"Yikes," Mondo said weakly. "Can't shake 'im."  
"What we been hearing," - was it him, or were they forming a circle? - "You don't wanna shake the little faggot."  
"Fuck off, he was-"  
"'Don't touch Ishimaru from my class, boys'. 'I'm too busy tonight, boys.' 'I got a date with loverboy, boys.'" Tetsu jeered. "We saw you. You had your hand on his neck, that wasn't no accident. You're no Daiya, Mondo Oowada. You're just some little queer, and we don't answer to you. Time you learned that."

He had enough time to follow his first instinct and yell "Get outta here!" to the hovering Ishimaru, who looked ready to attempt some well-meant heroics, before the circle closed in and the first hit landed.

He'd been in fights before, but that hadn't been a fight. He was straight up beaten up. And now he was lying in an alleyway, trying not to cry.

You did this. You did this every day, to Ishimaru and anyone who rubbed you up the wrong way. You made their lives hell because of your own insecurity.

He didn't want to move for like, a week, or possibly ever, but when he couldn't hold in a quiet whimper at the sting pervading all his muscles, an all-too-familiar raven head hesitantly peeped around the alley corner.

Ishimaru gasped, and it occurred to Mondo his nose was bleeding and he looked like shit, but he forced himself up with a hiss and began to hobble frantically out of the alley and towards his house, pointedly ignoring his follower.  
"You need to see a doctor, Mondo."  
"This ain't no harlem sunset, I'll be fine."  
"You're injured!"  
"Scram, cat."  
"I'm worried about you."  
"Please go home."  
"I don't want to." As they rounded into Mondo's yard where his bike was parked, Mondo limping, Ishimaru dutifully walking his bike, he looked up to meet Ishimaru's eyes for the first time and saw them near-tearful with concern.

"Why do you care? You hate me."  
"I don't hate you! You're human, just like me. We shouldn't hate each other."  
"You should hate me. I did this to you every day." Mondo's voice was bitter with regret.  
"And that's why I know that right now, you need my forgiveness. I forgive you, I... Where are you going?"

Mondo started up his engine, suppressing a hiss of pain as he tensed himself up for the long ride ahead. "Doesn't matter. I'm leaving town."  
"You can't leave town! I forbid it!"  
"I ain't a hall you can monitor, all right? I gotta agitate the gravel or I'll land in the doghouse, anyways!" he shouted over the engine as he wheeled his bike out of the driveway.  
"You'll what?"  
Mondo revved up and sped away before he could let himself say anything else.

"Wanted... Someone who kissed me... who held me closely... and stole my he-a-art!" Mondo didn't sing except when he was on his bike and the engine could hide the noise. He had hit the interstate freeway, the sun was in the sky, and his Triumph was pointed forward - away from Manhattan, away from Hope's Peak, and most importantly, away from the confusion that was Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

Crash.

The sound was so loud behind him, followed by countless shrieking engine horns, that Mondo had to swerve sharply off the road and let the bike fall over in the grass in order not to lose control entirely. Scrambling up from under the Triumph, whose right wing mirror was now a total bust, he shielded his eyes to try and find out what the hell had just happened behind him on the freeway.

A red bike in a state of disrepair.

Cars rear-ending each other.

A body in short shorts face-down on the side of the road.

He heard himself yelling hoarsely, but other noises barely registered, until he lifted Ishimaru's head up and the guy spat out a mouthful of gravel and mildly said "Ouch. I passed out."

At that moment, Mondo Oowada knew he was over the moon for Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

"You stupid fuck!" Mondo yelled as he dragged Ishimaru onto the grass, running back to pick up the mangled bicycle so that cars would stop honking angrily at him. "I thought you were fucking dead! Why were you cycling on the freeway?" He knelt down next to Ishimaru who was lying in the grass getting his bearings.  
"I didn't know where you were going and I needed to stop you!"  
"So you cycled after me on the freeway until you passed out? You're lucky you ain't dead!"  
"Well, it sounds reckless if you put it like that."

Mondo breathed out. "Why did you do that?"  
"Because I like you. I don't want you to go."  
"Don't you understand I gotta go or I'm gonna end up in the clink?"  
"What? Why are you saying that? What have you done?"  
"You saw all those cop cars! I only bricked the Togami pad!"

Unexpectedly, Ishimaru was laughing. "You thought six police cars were for you? I knew you had quite the ego, but..."  
"Wait, what?"  
His face hardened again. "Touko Fukawa... she got arrested. On suspicion of murdering some guy last night. Poor girl, she can't be guilty..."  
"Shit!" Mondo sat down next to Ishimaru. "No, I think she is. Actually I think I mighta seen her fleeing the scene."  
"Ah." Ishimaru paused and then smiled at him. "So you can come home."  
"We'll see. I think my brother's gonna kick me out now."

They watched cars roaring by in silence for a while.

"My parents kicked me out," said Ishimaru quite suddenly. "That's why I live in the Bronx with my grandpa now."  
"Get real! They kicked you out? Shit, if you managed to break the rules there ain't no hope for the rest of us! What the hell did you do?"  
"Told them I thought I was probably queer," he replied honestly.

Mondo stared, and eventually managed to articulate "Why the fuck would you tell your parents that."  
"They always said I should tell them anything." Ishimaru shrugged. "I never thought they could be disappointed with me."  
"'Course they would. You don't say it. You never say it."  
"You say it. You say it an awful lot. All you do is call people queers and homos and fairies. But I think I always saw through that insecurity."  
"Don't make me say it," Mondo murmured. "'Cause I can't. I'm too much of a fucking coward."

But it wasn't hard to lean his head against Ishimaru's shoulder.  
"We can't be happy," He said thickly. "Not like normal people. So don't you see why I just want to pretend it ain't like that?"  
"We can be happy."  
"Don't you know your groceries? You're too damn optimistic! We can't hold hands! We can't get married! I can't let you meet my brother, we can't even... We can't even hang out in public without people giving us shit." Mondo bundled up grass in his fist. "I don't want it to be like this. I hate it."  
Ishimaru nodded, and Mondo thought maybe he understood that had been more directed at his own self-hatred than at Ishimaru.

"Shouldn't you be in school?"  
"So should you."  
"Here we are." Mondo laughed.  
"Why did you brick the Togami house? That doesn't seem... remotely intelligent."  
"'Cause I'm a dumbass." He snaked a hand around Ishimaru's shoulder. "And I just hated him. What he said to Aoi, how he lords it over everyone... I hate him."  
"You really wanted to defend Aoi?"  
"Of course I did! She's a nice girl, doesn't deserve that. What, did you think I had no damn sympathetic bones in my body?"  
"After all the beatings I was starting to wonder."  
"S... Sorry." Mondo took his hand off Ishimaru's shoulder, subdued.

"You pulled me out of the road. You thought I was dead." Ishimaru grinned. "You nearly cried."  
"You shut the fuck up."  
"You care about me. You beautiful bastard."

Ishimaru pounced on him in a tackle as Mondo laughed and yelled "Dollar for the swear jar! Call the cops, Ishimaru just said-mmpf!" He was unable to complete the sentence, on account of he was being pinned down by the guy he'd pinned down for years on end, and fiercely, fearlessly kissed.

"There's grass stains on my jacket."  
"Deal with it." Ishimaru snickered.  
"Boy, once you get goin' with acting all rebellious, you just don't stop, do ya- Mmpf! You gotta stop interrupting me like that."  
"We missed an entire day of school, didn't we?"  
"Yep."

Something dawned on them both at the same time. "Oh crud, it's homecoming tonight! Is there time to fix my hair?"  
"That depends how fast you can drive me home."  
Mondo stared. "Look, just because of I'm a little on the hook for you, doesn't mean you get to ride the Triumph."  
"Well, my bike's totalled, and it's a long way back to Hope's Peak. Don't you want to make the scene?"  
"Make an entrance with you on the back of my ride and Aoi stood up at the dance floor, but... But screw it."  
"I knew you'd see it my way. I trust you have a spare helmet?"  
"Bud, I don't even have a helmet, full stop."  
"What?! We've already had one road accident scare today!"  
"Aww, come on, it vibrates you to feel the breeze in your nest."

They climbed onto the Triumph, Ishimaru extremely gingerly.  
"Hold onto my waist."  
"Yes sir!"  
"Calm down, moose-eyes."  
"You're lucky I like you so much." Ishimaru muttered indistinctly into Mondo's jacket as they sped along the freeway.  
"You're snowed."  
"You're real gone."  
"You love me."


	5. Chapter 5

Aoi Asahina poured herself a glass of punch and drank it, frowning, as she repeatedly scanned the room, trying not to look too hung up.

"Did you really expect him to make the scene?" Junko Enoshima asked her cannily. Junko was in a hot pink high-waisted dress that clung close to her supermodel body, leaving little to the imagination, and Aoi struggled not to feel babyish in her coral silk she'd borrowed from her mother. "I guess you're right."  
"I always am," Junko grinned. "You can't rely on a bozo like that."

"Aren't you gonna dance with Hagakure, Junko?"  
"Doubt it." She snorted. "Sister, I think he's wasted. But at least he showed up at my house and all, gave my dad the 'Yes-sir-no-sir-thank-you-sir' talk. But I don't think he's exactly up for stimulating conversation. Men are scum, huh? We don't need 'em."

Aoi nodded hesitantly, hoping nobody knew how true those words really rang for her. Still, she had honestly thought Mondo'd at least show her a good time. Or, you know, show up. Who stood a girl up on homecoming night?

"I-Ishimaru, I can't hold on much longer! You've gotta help me out!"  
"You have to try, Oowada! Don't bust it yet! I'm coming!"  
"Oh god!" Mondo panted.

Ishimaru burst into the room. "It's no good, Mondo, my grandpa really doesn't have any bigger suits! He's a slim man! Now take that one off immediately before you burst its buttons!"  
"Well, I can't very well pick up Aoi in my biker duds..." Mondo fretted as he shrugged off the fourth suit jacket out of many that Ishimaru's grandpa, a former politician, possessed. "...Her mom'll slam the door in my face. Nah, it's no good."

He paused, looking up at the newly dressed Ishimaru for the first time since he entered the room. "Well... Don't you look a million bucks."  
The hall monitor hovered by the doorway in a sharply tailored tux with a lily tucked into the top corner. "Who's the flower for? Didn't know you had a date."  
"You never asked. Sakura."  
"So sue me, I assumed you was too much of a longhair to pull any chicks. Man, she'll break your bones on the dancefloor."  
"Who's the one ogling the longhair right now?" Kiyotaka grinned. "Anyways, I can't dance."  
"Aw hell, everyone can dance. I'll show you how."

He took Ishimaru by the hand daringly as they stood alone in the living room, and walked him through some jitterbug motions, smiling down at the shorter guy, who was concentrating furiously on his feet and trying to commit the dance to memory like he was cramming for a test. As the sound came of a key turning in the door, they sprung apart.

Ishimaru's grandfather was a small man, like Ishimaru, and looked both young for his age and world-weary, a stooped back slowing him as he entered carrying groceries and smiled warmly at his grandson - the same smile that reached Ishimaru's eyes when he was laughing with Mondo.

"Kiyotaka, I thought you had a lady to pick up tonight! And who's this?"  
"Grandpa, this is... my friend Oowada. Mondo."  
Mondo nodded idiotically, adding "I'm his friend," unnecessarily. "I forgot to get a suit."

His grandpa looked at Mondo funnily for a moment, and Mondo remembered with a start that he must know about Ishimaru, why he'd been kicked out.  
"Well, Mondo, I think you'll look grand in your... interesting jacket. I'm sure Kiyotaka agrees."  
"Ummm. Yeah. Grand."  
"W-we should skedaddle, Ishimaru. Kiyotaka, that is. I'm late for Aoi as it is."  
"You boys have fun now! Have my grandson home by midnight!"  
"I - I'm not his date," Mondo stuttered, mortified, but there was really no point.

Byakuya Togami sat alone, reading a book and scowling, and he may have been wearing the most expensive suit in the room but he was definitely having the least fun, Aoi observed. She guessed he'd never managed to get a date after scorning Fukawa. Hopefully that'd teach him a lesson.

Naegi and Kirigiri wandered over to collect punch, she in a shimmering floor-length lavender dress, he in a slightly shabby suit. "I never did end up bringing a girl. That kinda sucks."  
"Sure."  
"And no guy asked you, Kyouko? That's nuts!"  
"Sure."  
"They were probably just intimidated by how pretty and smart you are. How lame, neither of us has anyone to dance with now..."  
"Sure." Kirigiri's grip on her punch tumbler tightened, and Aoi was seriously considering emptying the entire bowl over Naegi's dense head, when finally he seemed to actually look at Kirigiri and see her for the first time.  
"Hey, Kyouko... Wanna dance with me?" He finally asked, after a pause.  
Kirigiri took Naegi by the arm and swung him bodily onto the dance floor. "Yes."

Aoi giggled into her punch. Everyone was finally having a good time, it seemed. Even Celestia was laughing at something Yamada said, stood in conversation with him dressed in her usual high-class black. She wanted to join in the fun, but felt like she didn't belong in any of their class's groups.  
"Are you all alone, little lady?" came a soft voice she knew well, and she spun around to see Sakura Oogami looking like the queen of the universe in a magnificent ruffled red ballgown, and something inside her melted.  
"Sakura-"

"Aoi! Shit!" Mondo was grabbing her by the arm, and jesus christ, was he still wearing his biker jacket? "Hey, just where the hell have you-" she started to yell, but he waved her protests away.  
"If we're gonna dance we gotta make it quick, 'cause I think your dad's gonna come after me with a .45 after I turned up at your house lookin' like this an hour late."  
"I was just talkin' to Sakura, actually-"

"She's got a dance partner." came Ishimaru's voice, and he kneeled down before Sakura gallantly, presenting her with a lily.  
Aoi giggled as Mondo tugged her onto the dance floor, and, amazingly, Sakura and Ishimaru followed.

The slow song ended and after a moment's silence Bill Haley's voice reverberated around the room. "One, Two, Three O'clock, Four O'clock rock..."  
Ishimaru laughed joyfully. "Come on, snake, let's rattle!"  
"You can jitterbug?" Aoi panted as the four of them began to dance in a circle. Ishimaru's limbs were flailing around rather wildly, but he'd clearly studied for this. Sakura moved minutely but surely, improvising against the rhythm, and Aoi shook it down with Mondo, both of them pretty jive when it came to swing dance.  
"I had a good teacher!" Ishimaru yelled over the music. "Hey, who's got a coin for the jukebox? I wanna play this song again!"  
Aoi laughed at him, and caught a glimpse of Mondo smiling hugely and genuinely at Ishimaru's rather unexpected rock'n'roll enthusiasm. She danced, and watched him watch Ishimaru, and thought Maybe, just maybe...

The stars were starting to glitter as the four of them piled out into the school field to catch their breath on the cool grass after a solid hour's dancing. There was no alcohol, but they were all dizzy with dancing, and when Aoi impulsively grabbed Sakura's hand and ran off to talk to her in the corner, Mondo put his arm around Ishimaru's shoulder, if only for a moment.

"This was really fun," he murmured. "Even though you ain't my date."  
"You aren't mine, either." Ishimaru looked up and then quickly darted forward to peck Mondo's cheek.  
"Hey, don't do things by halves," Mondo smiled, and pulled the shorter guy in for a daring smooch.

"Oh!" came Aoi's voice, and Mondo's heart jumped a mile, but when they turned and saw the two girls walking back holding hands and looking dizzy with delight, there was a mutual understanding among all of them.

"This situation is highly statistically unlikely," said Ishimaru after a moment's pause.  
"You are such a fuckin' nerd!" Mondo laughed, noogeying him. Ishimaru yelped, and for a moment that terrible guilt that he was scaring him and bringing up bad memories rose in Mondo's chest, but then Ishimaru's hands snaked around his shoulders and he leaned into Mondo's chest, trustingly, lovingly.

And hell, maybe things would turn out okay.

* * *

**Sequel: Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing in progress (on slight hiatus) now!**


End file.
